A HEALTHCARE recruitment specialist founded in a Hampshire living room just four years ago has relocated to larger premises due to expansion.

Appoint Group sources nursing professionals for private sector clients across UK, from general and psychiatric hospitals, nursing and care homes to paediatrics and GP surgeries.

In a deal through commercial property consultancy Hughes Ellard, the ten-strong company signed a five-year lease on a 3,200 sq ft office at three-storey Burlington House near Eastleigh.

Appoint Group, owned and run by managing director Simon Berry, moved from Solent Business Centre, opposite Southampton docks, after outgrowing space.

Burlington House is one of six buildings at Botleigh Grange Office Campus, Hedge End. The quoting rent for Appoint was £18 per square foot, equivalent to £57,600 a year.

Hughes Ellard represented Burlington House landlord Highcross, a property fund manager specialising in property investment and development opportunities in the UK.

Russell Mogridge, the director of business space at Hughes Ellard, which has offices in Southampton and Fareham, said: “Appoint Group is another example of a successful Hampshire firm, having started from humble roots. Burlington House, which is fully occupied, will serve well the needs of Appoint."

He added: “Botleigh Grange Office Campus continues to attract high-calibre companies because of the excellent standard of grade A accommodation, the landscaped setting and the proximity of the M27 motorway (junction 7).”

Other occupiers at Burlington House are State Securities, which provides asset finance solutions for businesses, legal firm Clarke Willmott, and Gleeds, the international management and construction consultants.

Simon, a career recruitment consultant who graduated in business from Southampton Solent University, said: “Appoint Group was founded from humble beginnings before the hiring of staff quickly meant relocation to Solent Business Centre after just a year.

“Demand for our services is such that there are now ten of us and, with plans to increase the team by at least 50 per cent every year, Burlington House matches our future expansion requirements.

“It is also an exceptionally smart and professional campus where we will be proud to host our clients.”

He added: “The healthcare sector is dependent on particularly detailed and complicated legislation, especially surrounding recruitment and the introduction of new staff.

“It is a complex industry with a vast number of different specialist areas, which is why we have attempted to replicate that specialism structure within our own healthcare recruitment division.

“We aim to hire only top-tier staff for our expanding team, and, by doing this, healthcare professionals find it easier to communicate with us, knowing that a particular consultant will fully understand the specifics of their area of expertise.”